A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 29

After reading the manga, Su Bei checked the forum.

Since this update was light and mostly daily life, there were fewer analysis posts. Most were solo fan posts or CP shipping threads.

Previously popular ones, besides the chaotic trio mix, were Mo Xiaotian × Wu Mingbai, Su Bei × Mo Xiaotian, and Su Bei × Feng Lan.

The Su Bei × Feng Lan CP, in particular, didn’t have much manga plot, but many shippers noticed that in the manga’s corners, Su Bei and Feng Lan were often glued together.

With one white-haired and one blond, even a stick-figure silhouette was easily recognizable.

After this chapter dropped, the Su Bei × Jiang Tianming CP surged out of nowhere, and there was even a post shipping Su Bei × Lan Subing.

Su Bei was dumbfounded. He’d loved reading manga, sure, but never paid attention to CP stuff. Who could’ve imagined fans were this wild? Fine, whatever, but how did he and Lan Subing even have a CP?

They shipped them over a money transfer? The problem was, he wasn’t the only one who sent Lan Subing money!

With an “out of sight, out of mind” mindset, Su Bei quickly clicked into one of the rare analysis posts.

“A Brief Analysis of the Differences Between Su Bei and Feng Lan’s Prophecies”

[UpsideDownCola No.0: King of Abilities Season 2 has updated three chapters so far, introducing many new characters. I don’t know if the old thief did it on purpose, but some seem to appear as contrasting pairs.

Yes, I’m talking about Wu Mingbai and Mo Xiaotian, and Su Bei and Feng Lan. The former have a curious personality contrast, while the latter differ in their Abilities.

Both Su Bei and Feng Lan’s Abilities currently manifest as Prophecies, but it’s obvious the old thief wouldn’t put two identical Abilities in the same class, so I analyzed them closely.]

[No.1: Squatting]

[No.2: Squatting for the guru’s analysis]

[No.3: Pulling up a stool]

[No.4: I also think their Abilities must differ, but I haven’t noticed specifics]

[No.5: OP, just finish your analysis in one go!]

[No.6: I’m so anxious waiting]

[…]

[UpsideDownCola No.21 (OP): I’m here, I’m here. Continuing from the main post, first is the timing difference. Feng Lan said his Ability can only predict specifically once a month, and other times it’s random. Su Bei’s two Prophecies were close together, definitely shorter than Feng Lan’s interval.

Next is the method. Feng Lan explicitly said his Ability is [Prophecy], while Su Bei said his is [Gear]. From later plot, Su Bei indeed uses gears for Prophecies. So what about Feng Lan? I speculate he might have a direct Prophecy method, not needing external tools.

The most important difference is the Prophecy’s content.]

[No.22: That’s a long paragraph]

[No.23: Bowing to the big shot first]

[No.24: Finally posted the next part!]

[No.25 replying to No.21:

Did you miss something?]

[No.26: Why’s the last paragraph just one sentence? Analyze it!]

[No.27: Big shot, half-finished sentences bring bad karma!]

[No.28: How’s the Prophecy content different? Finish your post, big shot!]

[…]

[UpsideDownCola No.45 (OP):

You guys kept rushing me, so I posted a bit to calm you down. It’s all done now.

Su Bei has prophesied twice, and it’s clear he prophesies for “people,” either individuals or groups. But the content only ensures it’s related to the target, not what specifically happens.

Feng Lan’s different. Did you notice when Wu Mingbai asked for help, he said, “I can’t help you figure out who the culprit is.”

Analyzing this closely reveals the difference from Su Bei. He seems to prophesy for “events,” not “people.” If he had a chance, he could’ve predicted the culprit’s identity. That’s a clear distinction from Su Bei.]

[No.46: 6]

[No.47: Seems right, OP’s analysis is spot-on]

[No.48: I didn’t notice any of these three differences, haha.

Awkward but polite smile.jpg]

[No.49: So Feng Lan can predict specific things, while Su Bei can only predict people-related stuff. Sounds like Feng Lan’s stronger.]

[No.50 replying to No.49: In terms of Prophecy, sure, since Feng Lan’s Ability is [Prophecy], unmatched in that area. But overall, not necessarily—Su Bei’s Prophecy frequency is definitely higher.]

[No.51: OP’s awesome!]

[No.52: How do you analyze so much? Am I the only one who tosses my brain out when reading manga?]

[No.53: They do have differences, but their Abilities still feel similar?]

[No.54 replying to No.53:

Yeah, I also think these Prophecy Abilities overlap too much. What’s the point of slight differences when their roles are the same? Why not combine their Abilities into one person? Wouldn’t that be simpler?]

[No.55: Upstairs +1]

[No.56: +2]

[No.57: +3]

[No.58: +4]

[…]

[No.71: Do people really think Su Bei only has Prophecy? He’s clearly hiding something. A Destiny Compass—can it only predict?]

[No.72: Upstairs is right. I actually think both are hiding something. Feng Lan became family head just with his awakened Ability. Is it really just a defenseless Prophecy?]

[No.73: Even without extra abilities, splitting them makes sense. If their Prophecy powers were combined, that person would be way too OP, at least S-Class.]

[No.74 replying to No.72: You woke me up!]

[No.75: Old thief, draw faster!]

[No.76: Old thief, draw faster!]

[No.77: Old thief, draw faster!]

[…]

This post stirred some anxiety in Su Bei. He knew how to differentiate himself from Feng Lan—by turning passive into active, not just predicting but actually changing others’ destinies. Then no reader would say they were similar.

But how could he show readers he could forcibly alter destinies, thus reshaping their view of his Ability?

He’d used up nearly all the info from before Season 2’s updates. What he had left were: Mo Xiaotian’s identity, Jiang Tianming’s Ability secret, and a potentially unreliable hunch about Zhao Xiaoyu (the first to introduce herself) and Wu Jin (the last to finish running laps) possibly being significant.

Just these three leads—which could he use?

Thinking it over, Su Bei asked: “Can I directly tell Jiang Tianming and the others about Mo Xiaotian’s undercover identity?”

Though revealing this might slightly break his persona, if he could, he’d have a trump card. Showing readers he knew Mo Xiaotian’s identity, even if it didn’t branch out his Ability, would at least reinforce its existing strength.

Unexpectedly but understandably, Manga Consciousness firmly rejected it: “No. If you reveal that secret early, even I can’t protect you.”

A major deviation from the original outline would be too much, even with its influence over the author’s consciousness.

“You’d be killed off by the plot, Jiang Tianming would lose that memory under the author’s control, and none of it would be drawn in the manga.”

Honestly, Su Bei wasn’t too disappointed—he’d guessed as much. This was why he didn’t believe everyone in the manga world had their own will; they could be easily manipulated by the author.

Sighing, he dropped that idea and started mulling over the other two leads. But soon, he rubbed his hair in frustration, looking helpless.

Jiang Tianming’s Ability had issues, but Su Bei only knew bits from the manga. Revealing he knew about it at the right moment could add to his mystique, but it wouldn’t help his current predicament and would cost him a trump card.

As for Zhao Xiaoyu and Wu Jin, that was even less actionable—it was just his guess. Though he was confident in it, even if correct, what could he do besides befriending them early?

Calm down. Su Bei closed his eyes, forcibly soothing his restless mind. Maybe because he’d been reminded this was a manga world, he felt a bit rushed.

No need to hurry. He had at least a week to prepare. Even if he couldn’t boost his strength before the exam, it was fine. If he failed to save the world, the worst outcome was just dying like he did initially. Every day he lived now was a bonus. The culprit was already dead, so even doing nothing, he could live another decade. Why rush?

You get what you’re paid for. Kill him, revive him, give him a measly Cheat, and expect him to save the world? If he still panicked in this situation, he’d look down on himself.

After mentally chanting this a few times, his anxiety fully subsided. Su Bei reexamined his few leads.

No lead was useless—only users could be.

These three leads were worthless if stated outright, but kept secret, they might yield unexpected results.

Until he knew the exam’s details, there wasn’t much he could do. Teaming with the protagonist group already secured future screen time. He’d done his best; the rest was just dealing with whatever came.

If he really flopped and got eliminated in the first round, what then?

Su Bei tilted his head, pondering for a bit.

Then it’d be: Second personality, activate!